Google Maps amplifies its app for electric vehicle owners

Google Maps is beefing up its app to help electric vehicle owners find the most suitable and closest place to charge up.

Google Maps said Tuesday it’s adding an EV charging feature to the app that will give users information about charging stations. Google has featured charging stations for a number of years now. But now, Google Maps is displaying more stations from supported networks and providing information about the stations themselves, including how many charging ports are available and how quickly they’ll be able to charge.

Users can type in keywords like “ev charging” or “EV charging stations” to see the nearest supported stations.

The EV charging search feature starts rolling out Tuesday on Android and iOS, with desktop launching in the coming weeks.

Google Maps now supports charging stations around the world, including Tesla and ChargePoint globally. In the U.S., the feature also includes SemaConnect, EVgo and Blink. ChargeMaster and Pod Point are included in Google Maps in the UK and ChargeFox stations will be shown in Australia and New Zealand.

Google Maps will show information about the business where the station is located, the types of ports available, charging speeds, and how many ports there are. Users will also see information about the station from drivers, including photos, ratings, reviews and questions.

There are other third-party apps out there with this kind of information, notably PlugShare, which has been a go-to source for many electric vehicles owners in the past. Innogy recently acquired PlugShare’s parent company Recargo.